AT&T Nexus 6 includes carrier branding on its backside

A few days ago, it was discovered that AT&T’s business site shows the Nexus 6 with an AT&T logo on its backside. That was the first we’d heard of any N6 carrier branding, and with no official word from AT&T, it was unclear if the branding was real or just some error. Now we know that it’s the former.

Two xda-developers forum members, HCdroid and ald9351, report that they received the Nexus 6 models that they ordered from AT&T today and that the units have AT&T’s globe logo beneath the “Nexus” branding on the device’s back. The device also includes an AT&T boot screen at startup, ald9351 says.

Because the Nexus 6 is sold by Google and Motorola unlocked and ready for use on all U.S. carriers, it was thought that perhaps the operators wouldn’t muck with the device like Verizon did with the Galaxy Nexus. It turns out that that’s not the case, and that’s kind of a bummer for the Nexus purists out there. Another xda user points out that getting rid of that AT&T boot screen won’t be as easy as just flashing a Google factory image. But hey, at least the AT&T Nexus 6 itself features the same big, high-res display and vanilla Android 5.0 build as the other models.

What do you think about carrier branding on phones and tablets? Does AT&T’s logo on this Nexus 6 make you not want to buy from AT&T?